A win is a win is a win. In addition, a penalty is a penalty is
a penalty.
A win is a win is a win.
In addition, a penalty is a penalty is a penalty.
The latter doesn’t role off the tongue that well, so I don’t think I’ll be starting any cliches this week, but it certainly tied in with San Benito’s win on Friday night against Alisal.
The Haybalers won in Salinas 27-14 in a game that was not nearly as close as the 13-point margin would have you believe.
It was 7-0 San Benito after one quarter, 17-0 at halftime and 24-7 after three. The Trojans did score a late touchdown in the fourth, but the majority of San Benito’s starters were already out of the game.
The ‘Balers racked up 368 yards of offense, and held the Trojans to just 144 yards.
San Benito had some big plays to boot, with Mitchell Cook rushing for 80 yards on one play, Jeff Bernaldez sprinting for 47 yards on another and quarterback Ronnie Fhurong contributing rushes of 33 and 26 yards on the night.
And the offense scored on their opening drive for the first time this year.
The defense, not to be outdone, caused four turnovers, with Ricky Canes recovering a fumble, and Robby Sanchez, Evan McFadden and Ryan Wiltse all picking off passes.
It was a rather convincing win, to say the least.
But San Benito still had 16 penalties, 11 in the first half. Of those 16, seven were false start penalties and one was an offsides.
“I wish we’d play a cleaner game,” head coach Chris Cameron said afterward. “I’m not sure why we have so many false starts. We practice every day. Stuff like that just kills us, but we got the win tonight.”
At its worst, the ‘Balers had three false start penalties in a row, while on a first-and-10 from Alisal’s 18-yard line, running back Nick Acosta rushed for an 18-yard touchdown. The play was brought back, however, due to a holding penalty.
San Benito is on quite the roll right now, scoring 41 points in their last five quarters. The offense is moving the chains, the defense remains rather stifling, and the Haybalers have the opportunity to win out their 2007 campaign against Salinas and Gilroy.
Yes, the ‘Balers can most certainly win out. Friday’s win at Alisal was a morale-, momentum- and confidence-boosting victory. Cutting the penalties in half would be a massive first step toward beating Salinas and Gilroy.
– I spoke with running back Levi Sutton after the game Friday, and he said the football team has calmed down since the season began.
“Everyone is focused on the bus,” Sutton said. “That’s where it all starts.”
I tie this in with junior defensive lineman Sam Doty’s “Brotherhood” bracelets. Similar to Lance Armstrong’s “Livestrong” bracelets, Doty passed out the bracelets at Thursday’s team dinner before the Palma matchup.
The ‘Balers have been coming together as a team since the beginning of the season, and it’s beginning to show not only on the field but off it as well.
A win at Salinas Friday will not only show how far this team has come, will not only put San Benito one game above .500 in the TCAL, but will also give the ‘Balers a mountain of momentum to throw at Gilroy.
As Cameron said, “This is an opportunity for us.”
